Automobile-starter



H. C.- FENTRESS.

- AUTOMOBILE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 21. 1919.

Patented Sept. 14,

2 SHEETS-SHEET gwve'mtoz H. (7. R22}re&s-

lrromup H. C. FENTHESS.

AUTOMOBILE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 21, 1919.

I, 352', 803;, Patented Sept. 14,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEE-T 2.

Witness es PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY FENTRESS, 0F GLEN DEAN, KENTUCKY.

AUTOMOBILE-STARTER.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed October 21, 1919. Serial No. 332,334.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, HENRY C. FENTRESS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glen Dean, 'in the county of Breckinridge,"

State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Automobile-Starters; and do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. This invention is an improvement in internal combustion engines and has particular reference to a starting device therefor. This application is substituted for the abandoned application Serial No. 222642. An object of the invention is to provide improved means, operable from the drivers seat of a motor vehicle, for rotating the .shaft of an engine with suflicient speed to start the same and, to this end, use is preferably made of a train of gearing connectlng I the engine shaft with a crank positioned near the drivers seat, said gearing having novel means associated therewith for rendering the same operative and inactive and also means for maintaining the momentum of a portion of the engine shaft and relieve the strain'of shock which is placed on the gearing when said portion of the shaft is adjusted into engagement with the main portion thereof.

Another object is to provide a starting device of this character which is simple in construction, easy to manufacture, durable and which is efiective in carrying out the purpose for which it is designed.

The inventive idea involved 'is'capable of receiving a variety of mechanical expressions one of which for the purpose of illustrating the invention, is shown in the 'accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a top plan View of an automobile engine and certain paf'ts of the vehicle showing the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation with certainof the parts of the vehicle removed.

Fig. 3 is atransverse section on the line Fig. 6 is'an elevational view of the means for rendering the train of gearing operative and inactive.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectionalview of the sections of the engine shaft.

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of an adjusting device of the means shown in Fig. 6.

Referring more particula'rly to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates generally a motor vehicle having the usual dash board Patented Sept. 14, 1920;

11 and engine 12 which may be of any preferred construction and which is only conventionally shown. The crank shaft of the engine is made in sections 13 and 14 having adjacent ends thereof provided with cooperating clutch faces 15, the section 14 being adjustable longitudinally with respect to the other section and mounted in bearings adjusted into engagement with the section 13 after the mechanism presently to be de- Y scribed has been :started. The portion of the section 14 of the shaft between the bearings 16 has mounted thereon a pinion 18 and interposed between one end of the pinion and the adjacent bearing 16 is a coilspring 19 which normally maintains the section 14 out of engagement with the section 13"and thus prevents cooperation of the clutch faces 15.

A vertically disposed supporting or bear- V ing frame 20 of substantially inverted U- shaped formation is arranged transversely of the crank shaft and has mounted in one side thereof one end of a stub shaft 21 the other end of which is journaled in a bearing 22 and this shaft has loosely mounted thereon a large gearwheel 23v which meshes with the pinion 18 and relative to which the said pinion is adjustable, the teeth thereof remaining in'mesh at all times with those of said gear wheel. The shaft 21 also has mounted thereomhforwardly of the gear wheel 23, a fly wheel 24 having a pair of abutment lugs 25 extending from the rear face thereof, said lugs being connected to certain of the spokes of the gear 23 by the coil springs 26. From this description, it

will be apparent when the fiy wheel 24 is initially rotated, by the means to be presently described, the same will have a relaiou tive ,movement with respect to the gear 7 wheel 23 which will compress thespr ngs upon the the section 14 is rotating at the desired' 26wand this compression will exert a push ear Wheel and start the rotation thereof. he provision of this fly wheel is also adapted to give to the section 14 of the crank shaft a rapid initial rotation. After speed, the shipper 17 may be operated to engage the clutch faces so that the-rotation of the section. 1 1 will be imparted to the section 13. It will of course be understood that when the clutch faces 15 engage, the a speed of rotation of the section 14fw1ll momentarily have a tende'ncyto' be decreased and similarly-effect the rotation of the gear wheel 23 and cause a relative rota mov'einent between the same and the fly w eel and due to the momentum of the latter the lugs 25 thereof will cause the springs 26 to agaln be compressed and exert a pressure upon the gearwlieel 23 and maintain its speed of ro tation with a consequent normal speed of rotation of the [section 1 1. It will also be apparent that the action of the springs 26 will absorb the shock or strain placed upon sudden engagementof the clutch'faces 15.

The mechanism for rotating shaft 21 preferably comprises a small gear 27 mount- 7 ed on said shaft and meshing-with anothergear 28 which is adjustable. toward and away from said gear 27 for the purpose of ooperati'vely'connecting said'shaft with the actuating mechanism and disconnecting the same therefrom. In order that-the gear 28 may be made adjustable, the same is mounted on one end of a pivoted supporting orbearing 'arm 29 the other endof which is connected tothe upper portion of the frame 20 and extending rearwardly from'said arm and intermediate its-ends is apair oft-upper and-lower contacts 30 and 31 adapted to be engaged by an eccentrically mounted disk 32 carried upon a; shaft 33 which extends rearwardly 'through the dashboard and is provided with a'handle 34 whereby to rowhen it is desired to-throw the s tate said disk to cause the periphery thereof to engage either of the contacts 30 or 31.

When the disk is adjusted into engagement with the lowercontact;31, the free. end ef the arm 29'---is permitted to lower and thus causethe gear 28 to engage thegpar 27' and aft 21 ut of operation the shaft 33 may be rotate to cause the periphery of the disk 32 to engage the upper contact which will lift the arm and consequently the gear 28 out of engagement with said gear 2 The gearing for rotating the shaft 21 further comprises a crankshaft 35 having its I rear end mounted'in the dashboard and its. forward end in the frame. 20 and bearing 36 and this shaft carries another-gear 3 which meshes at all times with the gear 28 1,352,so3 1 T so that when the shaft 35 rotated by the;

operator the movement will be transmitted through the several gears to the shaft 21 andvconsequently to the.section-14 of the engine shaft. The shipper may then be operated to cause engagement. between the clutch faces 15 so that the section 13 will be rotated with the engine and upon the release of saidshipperthe spring 19 will return the section 14 to its normal position.

It will be understood that by reasonof the fact that the gear wheel23 is loose on the shaft 21, and is connected with the fly wheel through the medium of the-springs 7 26 and lugs 25, and the fly wheel being fixed to the shaft 21, there is a cushion provided between the wheel 23 and the shaft 21 so that excessive jars incident to operative en- ,gagement of pinion areavoided. I

What is claimed is: 1.In an engine starter, the combination of, a sectional engine shaft, one of the sec- 18 with the Wheel 23, I

tions is normally disconnected from the.

other and adjustable into engagement therewith, a train of gearing operatively conh nected to the first named section forrotat ing the same, means forshiftingone of the gears into and out of operative connection In an engine starter, the combination with, a" train of gearing operatively connected to the first'named section for rotat ing the same, means for shifting one of the gears into and out of operative connection with the others,' cans for operatin train of gearing w en the gears there or are in operative relation, a fly wheel associated with one of the said gears and having abutsaid ments extending from one face thereof, and

coil springs connecting said abutme'nts with "/thes okesof-said gear.

3; n an engine, the combination of a sectional' shaft, one of the sections of which is normally disconnected-f from the other and adjustable into engagement therewith, a train of gearing 'operatively' connected to the first named section for rotating the same, a pivoted element for supporting one of the gears of said train of gearing, means engageable with said pivoted element to adjust said gear into and out of operative relation with-the other gears of the train of gearing and meansfor operating said train of gearing when hegears thereof are in operative-relation.

1,352,803 T I Q other and adjustable into engagement there-' gearing and having contact members, an L eccentric disk operatively associated with said contact members, toengage the same whereby to adjust said gear into and out of 10 operative connection With the other gears of said train of gearing and means for operating said train of gearing when the gears are in operative relation. v

In testimony whereof, I affix mysignature, in the presence of two Witnesses.

HENRY C. FENTRESS.

Witnesses: I

. C. L. WILL'IAMsON,

W. H. WILLIAMSON. 

